Boris Pahor - Necropolis if you're into Holocaust. Heavy stuff
Vladimir Bartol - Alamut; The book served as an inspiration for Assassin's Creed series
Christiane F - Wir Kinder Vom Bahnhof Zoo; if you can get your hands on english translation or whatever language you speak, you should definitely pick it up. It's a real account of teenage junkies from 70's West Berlin. Bleak as death. One of the best books I've read.

Choke by Chuck Palahniuk(I don't know how to spell his name) was pretty great. Although having read that, seen Fight Club, and not having read any other of his works, I worry that his narrative style is completely homogenous across all of his novels. But I also barely ever read so who cares?

"Choke by Chuck Palahniuk(I don't know how to spell his name) was pretty great. Although having read that, seen Fight Club, and not having read any other of his works, I worry that his narrative style is completely homogenous across all of his novels. But I also barely ever read so who cares?"

if you never read any of his other novels, you are making a very blind and misguided assumption.

Far less enterataining (it is one of the first sociology books ever written, but its short, 75 pagesish. but close to as eye opening.

The Crowd by Lebon

Seriosuly will change the way you think about everything. It details the process by where (virtually all) humans think with crowd psychology and don't even activate their critical thinking faculties. Literally explains everything from why people followed religion to begin with to how people are duped by propaganda today. You honestly will look at nearly everyone as a dumbass sheep after reading this.

I'm trying to get on to some stories by Cortazar and a couple books by Garcia Marquez but school is biting my scrotum

Garcia Marquez has some cool stories, Chronicle of a Death Foretold and 100 years of solitude are the most famous ones. In my hometown ( Colombia ) is mandatory to read in high school those 2 books, which are very good and well constrcuted. Maybe you will find enjoyable Love in the Time of Cholera and Autumn of the Patriarch